Central Bank 'cannot impose sanctions' on Israel, Oireachtas committee to hear

'The Central Bank cannot decide to impose sanctions for breaches or alleged breaches of international law,' Central Bank head Gabriel Makhlouf is expected to tell the committee. Picture: Leon Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The head of the Central Bank is to tell politicians that it cannot refuse to approve the sale of Israeli war bonds despite mounting pressure to do so.

Gabriel Makhlouf will say that the Central Bank is required to approve a prospectus where it meets the standards of completeness, consistency, and comprehensibility under the legislation.

"Our legal obligations are clear and we do not need guidance to follow them," he is due to tell the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Wednesday.

"The law is also clear that, by approving a prospectus, the Central Bank does not endorse the issuer and does not endorse the securities. 

"Rather, it means the Central Bank is satisfied that the issuer has disclosed the required information, in the required manner, to potential purchasers of the securities, so that investors can make their own informed investment decision."

Mr Makhlouf will say that claims that the Central Bank could refuse to approve the Israeli bond prospectus on the basis of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional rulings in the ongoing South Africa case is "incorrect".

"The Central Bank cannot decide to impose sanctions for breaches or alleged breaches of international law," he is expected to tell the committee.

Meanwhile, the Government will not be supporting a cross-party motion demanding the Central Bank end the facilitation of Israeli war bonds and will instead table its own counter motion.

Calls to provide Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs with a free vote on a motion supported by four opposition parties have also been ignored by the coalition parties ahead of a Dáil debate on Wednesday. 

The Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Labour, and People Before Profit-Solidarity have united behind the motion that demands that the Government enact emergency legislation to explicitly force the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israel Bonds.

It also calls on the coalition to advise the bank that "by acting as the enabling cog in Israel’s fund-raising machine in the EU it is putting the State at risk of a charge of complicity in genocide".